PTSD Counseling

You feel on edge. Nightmares keep coming back. Sudden noises make you jump. You’re staying at home more and more. If you have experienced severe trauma or a life-threatening event — whether during a time of war or in a noncombat situation, or if you are now or have ever been a doctor, nurse, EMT, Paramedic, or any kind of Law Enforcement, you may develop symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or what is commonly known as PTSD. Maybe during the event you felt as if your life or the lives of others were in danger or that you had no control over what was happening. While in the military, or on the job, or in the ER, you may have witnessed people being injured or dying, or you may have experienced physical harm yourself.

Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event, sleeplessness, loss of interest and feelings of numbness, anger or irritability, or being constantly on guard, but there are many ways PTSD can impact your everyday life. Sometimes these symptoms don’t surface for months or even years after the event occurred. They may also come and go. If these problems persist or they’re disrupting your daily life, you may have PTSD and be in need of PTSD Counseling.

Some factors can increase the likelihood of a traumatic event leading to PTSD, such as:

The intensity of the trauma

Being hurt or loosing someone you were close to

Being physically close to the traumatic event

Feeling you were not in control

Having a lack of support after the event

Do you have any of these common signs or symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? The following are some of the most common symptoms of PTSD that you or those around you may have noticed:

Feeling upset by things that remind you of what happened

Having nightmares, vivid memories, or flashbacks of the event that make you feel like it’s happening all over again

Feeling emotionally cut off from others

Feeling numb or losing interest in things you used to care about

Feeling constantly on guard

Feeling irritated or having angry outbursts and having difficulty sleeping, or having trouble concentrating and being jumpy or easily startled.

It’s not just the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder but also how you may react to them that can disrupt your life. You may:

Frequently avoid places or things that remind you of what happened

Consistently drink or use drugs to numb your feelings

Consider harming yourself or others

Start working all the time to occupy your mind

Become isolated or pull back from family coworkers or friends

Is there treatment for PTSD?

If you show signs of PTSD, you don’t just have to live with it. In recent years, researchers have dramatically increased our understanding of what causes PTSD and how to treat it. Hundreds of thousands of Veterans who served in the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard have gotten treatment for PTSD, including PTSD counseling and found significant relief from their symptoms.